ongoing battle w/ex exployer

[peeowed]

What is the name of your state? pa
i am taking my old employer to small claims court to retrieve approx $1500 in commissions unpaid. i left the company 6 months ago. i was going to stay in the same business but after dealing with so much harrassment about stealing proprietary info and other reasons i decided it was not worth it. (i had no non-compete and the only information that was passed was either public info or information that was given to me by an employee that still worked there)
after talking to a few attorneys briefly they saw no reason why i shouldn't take my old employers to small claims to collect my commissions. i gave them a last chance letter, and they responded with an email to me saying they would see me in court with a counter suit.
Can you counter sue on a small claim to get a commission check? it doesn't seem right. If they are claiming I passed proprietary info I would think that would be a separate suit. can anyone help or is more information needed?

 

[hexeliebe]

You can countersue for any reason. Good or Bad.

 

[peeowed]

but if its small claims court are they only allowed to sue up to a certain dollar amount? what i think might happen is i sue for my paycheck and they come back and sue for 10 or 20K. all I want is my paycheck. i didn't even want to use an attorney.

 

[hexeliebe]

but if its small claims court are they only allowed to sue up to a certain dollar amount? what i think might happen is i sue for my paycheck and they come back and sue for 10 or 20K. all I want is my paycheck. i didn't even want to use an attorney.

They can sue for the maximum allowed in small claims court. The limit is from $1,000 to $5,000 depending on your jurisdiction.

And don't worry about using your attorney. They can't either. Attorneys are not allowed in small claims court.

 

[peeowed]

thank you! i had no idea about the attorney. now i definitely feel like it will be fair day in court!

 

[JETX]

Actually, Hex is not correct. Attorneys ARE allowed in small claims courts in PA.

"Can you counter sue on a small claim to get a commission check?"
*** Yes. The defendant can file a counter-claim or suit against you if they feel that they have a valid claim.

"If they are claiming I passed proprietary info I would think that would be a separate suit."
*** Actually, there are two separate, but related, possible actions: counter-claim or cross-complaint. I would presume that their action would really be a cross-complaint.

counterclaim
n. a retaliatory claim by a defendant against a plaintiff in a lawsuit included in the defendant's answer and intending to off-set and/or reduce the amount of the plaintiff's original claim against the defendant.
or
cross-complaint
n. after a complaint has been filed against a defendant for damages or other orders of the court, the defendant may file a written complaint against the party suing him/her or against a third party as long as the subject matter is related to the original complaint.

One other thing to consider is that the defendant can file a motion to transfer your complaint out of the small claims venue and into a higher court if their complaint exceeds the jurisdictional limit of the small claims court.

 

[peeowed]

ugh that sounds worse than i originally even thought. can i file my claim and wait and see if I they file and counter claims before I seek an attorney?
THey say I gave away proprietary info but the one piece of information that I did pass along was a special golf wholesale rate that my friend who still worked at the company told me they were getting for the summer. This was after I left the company. This information wound up in the lap of a competitor.

They think because I was going to start my own golf business that I was going to use my customers obtained while at their company, but I never did.
I never signed a non-compete anyway, however i dont think it matters because i dont think they have a case.

i would like this to be over and to get my $$ owed to me for all the work i did. i almost let everything go but found out they were hacking into my personal yahoo account. oddly enough, i sent them my final demand for payment and i received my very first computer virus yesterday. sorry to lash out all the details but i do appreciate all the help you have given me on this.

 

[hexeliebe]

ooops! guess no bar-b-que for me tonight

 

[woodsy]

They can sue for the maximum allowed in small claims court. The limit is from $1,000 to $5,000 depending on your jurisdiction.

And don't worry about using your attorney. They can't either. Attorneys are not allowed in small claims court.

Lawyers are not allowed in ANY small claims court??? Why in the case that I have going the other side has a lawyer?? Can you clarify this???

 

[JETX]

"Lawyers are not allowed in ANY small claims court??? Why in the case that I have going the other side has a lawyer?? Can you clarify this???"
*** Very simple..... you are misreading and misinterpreting the statement. This thread is about small claims court in PENNSYVLANIA. I have already noted that the PA small claims does allow attorneys. Some states don't.

And since you are in NEW YORK, the PA rules do NOT apply to you.

 

[JETX]

Oh, and one more correction for Hex:
"They can sue for the maximum allowed in small claims court. The limit is from $1,000 to $5,000 depending on your jurisdiction."
*** There is some confusion as to what the limits are for PA small claims. One site says that it is $5000 to $10,000 depending on the county. Another site says it is $8,000 for small claims or $10,000 for Philadelphia Municipal Court.